The Post’s Joseph Staszewski brings you around the world of professional wrestling in his weekly Post Match Angle.
The Post Match Angle will return Jan. 1.
Kevin Owens is doing arguably the best work of his career and it’s a shame we may have to settle for him carrying around the Winged Eagle belt as the “true” Undisputed WWE Champion instead of the actual one.
Owens is using all of his performance tools to perfection: From his social media rants, to promos from his hotel room or car, to his customized T-shirts for this storyline and making a compelling and logical case that Cody Rhodes is in some ways getting what he deserves when he attacked the champ after their match at “Saturday Night’s Main Event” last week.
Rhodes has triggered Owens’ jealousy and now resentment by first pushing for him to take a championship match he didn’t feel comfortable with at Bash in Berlin, to now questioning if Owens would do what was needed to be done to beat him.
Rhodes would not take no for an answer from Roman Reigns and teamed with Owens’ mortal enemy. He then lied about the Original Tribal Chief asking for the partnership, which set Owens off. Owens even warned Rhodes early in the story that he only turns on people who give him reason to.
(This does not excuse Owens’ character from using a banned pile driver on tag team partner Randy Orton for sticking up for Rhodes.)
Owens can make the case he brought the chair into the ring during Main Event only to take the swing Rhodes believed he didn’t have in him.
But then the babyface Rhodes showed he has it in him by stunningly and knowingly using it for a Cross Rhodes to win the match as ref Charles Robinson wasn’t even in the ring to count three.
Owens’ frustration of Rhodes getting away with cheating led to WWE doing the stretcher angle. He is now claiming on social media to be “your new, true WWE Champion.”
At the very least, Owens is being used to lay the first pieces of a Rhodes’ heel turn by showing that side exists.
It’s a shame Owens likely won’t actually beat Rhodes for the world championship, which would be his first since the Universal title in 2016. Sadly we have seen this before with Owens and Reigns in 2020 where he lost three championship matches in a month.
WWE could have stretched Rhodes vs. Owens into an eight- to 10-month feud with the “American Nightmare” clawing to get the championship back. There is still time to do something like that if Owens beats Rhodes on the first Raw on Netflix and Rhodes wins it back at the Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber.
Owens deserves it.
But for the past eight years, he has been unable to break through into the very top of the company — now seemingly occupied by Reigns, Rhodes, Gunther, Seth Rollins and CM Punk — while still being one of its most recognizable stars. Owens has said in interviews he’s at peace with that, but some fans probably are not.
And with the Rock potentially on his way back to start 2025 and WrestleMania season around the corner, the belt likely isn’t leaving Rhodes’ waist.
Owens and his fans will have to settle for him being a “true” and uncrowned champion on and off the screen for a little while longer.
Risky Business
TNA is taking a calculated risk by giving Tessa Blanchard a second chance despite her ugly exit from the company. In 2020, she was fired days before her contract was set to expire because she held up the world title while residing with her spouse at in the time in Mexico during the pandemic and failed to send in promos for her scheduled return at Slammiversary that July after the two sides could not reach an agreement. At 24, she was first woman to win the Impact World championship.
Blanchard, the daughter of Tully Blanchard, also faced allegations in 2020 of racism and bullying by La Rosa Negra and other female performers. No concrete evidence was ever presented. Blanchard has denied the claims and has not publicly apologized. She and La Rosa Negra have since worked things out.
Nearly five years later — after not working in a major U.S. promotion since — TNA is taking the chance Blanchard has grown and changed, as it’s potentially losing major stars in Jordynne Grace, “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Josh Alexander to free agency soon.
So Blanchard was brought back to TNA, which she said in an interview with Contralona PR she is not officially signed to, with the biggest challenge likely being winning back some of the locker room.
Either TNA will establish a monster heel star — and the heat was real as she attacked Grace last week — or she is one and done for good if old issues arise. It’s a risk worth taking.
Let’s see if she prove worthy of her second chance.
The Ten Count
With Judgment Day losing the World Tag Team championship, Finn Balor is free for a singles run, the faction cold implode again and both tag team titles can revolve around stories outside of WWE’s top factions.
Great finish to close NXT Tuesday night and great job by Eddy Thorpe and NXT champion Trick Williams to get their bodies positioned right to pull off the double pin with each ref claiming a different winner. One other thing to consider is Thorpe’s foot was under the bottom rope.
Carmelo Hayes has had a rough rookie year on the main roster as far as wins and losses after being a first-round draft pick. The natural story progression feels like it should be a big sophomore year.
I get why people might be upset with the smaller Ricochet beating Brody King in the Continential Classic. But Ricochet is clearly gearing up for a heel run and the win adds some weight to his refreshing new edge and aggressiveness.
Thought AEW playing a video package explaining Mina Shirakawa and Mariah May’s relationship before their main event match was another step in the right direction production-wise.
Nice get for WOW in adding Sibley Scoles as the new field reporter for its shows starting on Jan. 18, The former “Access Hollywood” and E! News star, currently working for the Raiders, recently did ringside interviews during the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight broadcast.
Chris Jericho caused quite a stir among fans when he showed up at a GCW show in Los Angeles to attack his ROH Final Battle opponent Matt Cardona and Effy – who recently made some harsh comments about AEW CEO Tony Khan that reportedly led to Ricky Starks being pulled form GCW shows. It was Jericho showing off an AEW T-shirt at the end that at least opened the door some of this tension being part of a larger working plan.
Nathan Frazier and Axiom really have developed into a tremendously fun buddy comedy. Kudos to both for their work and the range they have shown.
Karrion Kross is doing by far his best work on the main roster right now.
The Death Riders appearing to kidnap FTR to end Collision adds a much more dramatic sense of danger than plastic bags and cleaning fluid. Let’s see if AEW can’t help it self and push this a little too far again.
Wrestler of the Week
Chelsea Green, WWE
It’s great to see when good things come to those who earn it. Green certainly has with her work since returning to WWE in January 2023. She is consistently one of the most entertaining things on any show she’s on and was rewarded by becoming the first Women’s United States champion to a big pop on Saturday Night’s Main Event. It should give Green a chance to further showcase her abilities in the ring, too.
Social Media Post Of The Week
Match to Watch
Athena (c.) vs. Billie Starkz, Ring of Honor Women’s World championship at Final Battle (Friday, 7 p.m., HonorClub)
This will be the completion of a year-long story that saw Athena take Starkz, 20, under her wing as a “Minion in Training.” Athena, who beat Starkz at Final Battle in 2023, finally appears ready to move on from Ring of Honor after 730-plus days as women’s champion – the longest in company history. Starkz has finally hit her breaking point of Athena keeping her down, while the champ believes her protege is just there to put on a good show and let her win.
